MARITIME safety campaigners voiced outrage yesterday after a Tory minister admitted as many as two out of three coastguard shifts are dangerously under-staffed.
Labour MP Katy Clark demanded action from cuts-crazed coalition ministers after extracting the figures from Tory transport under-secretary Stephen Hammond under parliamentary questions.
Brow-beaten Mr Hammond had already weathered campaigners’ ire over the coalition’s closures of Scotland’s Clyde and Forth coastguard stations in 2012, which handed over responsibility to Belfast's station.
In the wake of Ann Widdecombe’s murder, JOHN GREEN wonders whether the government will really get to grips with the root cause of these attacks on our MPs
EDDIE DEMPSEY explains why the RMT is calling for urgent action against assaults on staff and passengers on our public transport system


